


comfort in a closet

by peachsneakers



Series: flufftober [22]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Background Prinxiety - Freeform, Crying, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Dukeceit - Freeform, Roman is a little bit of a jerk, Squiggles the Stuffed Octopus, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28161423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachsneakers/pseuds/peachsneakers
Summary: Remus regresses after a fight with his brother. Janus finds him.
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders
Series: flufftober [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969483
Comments: 7
Kudos: 110





	comfort in a closet

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: "Do you trust me?"

Remus crawls into the very back of his closet, his face already a mess of tears and snot. It's gross, but then again, _he's_ gross, so it shouldn't bother him.

It does, anyway.

He isn't even sure why he's back here, but this feels like the only safe place he can find. Janus is upstairs with Thomas and Patton, and Roman-

Well, Roman's the reason he feels so gosh dang bad in the first place.

Another argument. He remembers that. He remembers Roman's face going red as a blistered tomato, and Roman shouting at him _again_ about how he's the gross, bad, yucky brother, the one that no one wants around. And Janus isn't there to refute it, and Virgil looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than get between Remus and Virgil's boyfriend, so...

So Remus ran. He ran and ran and now he's in the back of his closet, surrounded by heaps of fallen clothes and dusty cardboard boxes. His skin burns where Virgil touched it, in a helpless soothing way when he realized just how upset Remus actually is, too little too late.

He scrabbles through the box at the very, very back, the one that houses a few treasured items that no one but Janus is allowed to know about. Virgil's almost caught him once, and that was scary, but he can't see anyone coming after _him_ any time soon, so maybe it's okay. He pulls out a slime green pacifier, an octopus deco on the front, and his stuffed octopus named Squiggles. Squiggles is well loved and patched in a few places, but he still smells like Janus's shampoo from when Janus washed him last, and the smell is comforting as Remus pops in his pacifier and curls up on the biggest pile of abandoned clothes. Light falls through the cracks in the door, giving him just enough illumination. 

He knows he shouldn't let his brother get to him. He's just pushing Remus's buttons. And if Remus was big, he _wouldn't_ care. Not like this. But he's _not_ big, he's _small_ and all he wants is a sippy cup filled with chocolate milk and lemonade, his favorite drink, and Janus. Janus is his caregiver when he's like this, and while Remus can normally take care of himself just fine, he really, _really_ doesn't want to when he's this upset.

Remus isn't sure how much time has passed when he first hears the gentle knock on the door. It's Janus's knock and he wants to rocket out of the closet and slam into the snake-like side, but he's afraid that Janus has brought someone else. And he doesn't want to show _anyone_ else when he's regressed, because if they still call him gross, he thinks he'll scream until his lungs give out.

"Remus?" Janus calls softly. Remus hears no extra sounds, no extra movements to indicate that someone else is there. He thumps his heel against the closet door, just loud enough for Janus to hear. The door creaks open and Janus appears. Remus squints cautiously at him, but he's alone, closing the door firmly behind him. "Remus, are you in the closet?"

"Maybe," he mumbles around his pacifier. The closet door slides open and Janus is there, and fresh tears bubble up because he's not alone anymore, and he feels embarrassed because he's not a _baby_ , so why can't he stop crying?

"Will you come out of the closet?" Janus asks. Stubborn, Remus shakes his head, clutching his stuffed octopus ever tighter to his chest. Janus squats down, stripping off one glove.

"Do you trust me?" Janus asks. Remus nods, eyes glued to Janus's face. His yellow eye seems to glow in the dim light. "I promise I'll keep you safe," Janus says. "I can get you your sippy cup. From the dark side kitchen, naturally. And perhaps some goldfish for a snack? Would you like that?"

"Lug nuts for crunch?" He asks hopefully. Janus laughs.

"If you're sure they won't damage your teeth," Janus says, indulgent. He reaches out his ungloved hand and lets Remus take it, gently tugging Remus forward. "I hear that you had a fight with your brother," Janus continues. Remus nods, sniffling loudly. "Well, I also heard that he's very sorry," Janus says. "But you don't have to see him now."

"Okay," Remus says. "I don't wanna see him now," he confesses. Janus smiles at him, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

"You decide when and if you want to see him," Janus soothes. "I do think you two should talk about it, but not while you're regressed. Okay?" Remus nods. That sounds good to him! Janus leads him over to the bed, where, with a snap of his fingers, Remus's favorite coloring book lies.

"I'll be right back with your sippy cup," Janus promises. Remus flops on the bed, already turning to a fresh page. He doesn't need to look behind him or count down the seconds until Janus comes back.

He knows that he will.


End file.
